Last January I was looking for a new challenge. I was fed up with spending money on gym memberships that I rarely used and breaking new year’s resolutions. I wanted to find something that I could stick to. I’ve always enjoyed walking, so when I saw the 1000 mile challenge, to walk 1000 miles in 1 year, I knew I had to do it.Unlike other big challenges, like running in a 10k or climbing the 3 peaks, there was no need to sign up, pay a registration fee or train. It was a personal challenge that I could do as and when I wanted to. To keep me motivated, I decided to fundraise whilst I completed the challenge. That way I could help other people, whilst helping myself.I set up a Just Giving page, which meant I could tell my friends and family all over about the challenge I set myself. I was always updating the page with my progress, so everyone could see how determined I was to complete the challenge.

To get me started, I walked 3 -4 miles every weekend with my friend Joanne, and a couple of miles ‘mid-week walk’ after work with Cassie. We’d usually time our weekend walks for whenever Joanne’s husband was watching the match! Having friends with me was a great help, especially when it was so cold and knees were aching! In the first couple of months, at the end of every walk, I’d put a bag of frozen peas on my knees!From there I started going for walks on even more after work walks, or whenever friends asked to meet up, I’d say only if we can go for a walk! This got some of my none-walking friends walking! The miles soon added up and the more I did it, the easier it got. Joanne and I then stared going on longer walks and we signed up to the Wirral Coastal Walk in June, and went on walking holidays to Snowdonia, the Lake District, and along the Jurassic Coast. It was a great excuse to go and visit somewhere different.

Walking was also a great way to de-stress too. I work long hours and it can get a bit manic, so this forced me to have a better work/life balance.

Aside from the walking, I had a great time fundraising too. The Fundraising team at The Whitechapel Centre sent over some t-shirts for us to wear on the walks, as well as collection cans and information about how the money I was raising was helping. I’d talk about the challenge to anybody I could and everyone would ask how I was getting on. It was brilliant to see so many people wanting to support me; even my hairdresser sponsored me! ​The last 100 miles during December was quite a slog, especially with the weather and dark nights, but the support and encouragement I got from friends and colleagues was amazing - especially my boss! He even told the whole school about my challenge in the Christmas Assembly and had a bucket collection on the last day of term! The first I knew was when he started talking from the stage and I suddenly thought ‘Aaaghh! He’s talking about me!’. He even gave me a bottle of Prosecco to take up Moel Famau on Christmas Eve!

I completed my challenge on Christmas Eve at the top of Moel Famau. I raised £1266.50 and celebrated with a bottle of bubbly. I’ve not stopped there though. I’m already 176 miles in to 2018’s 1000 miles - I know, I’m nuts! But I’m thinking of trying a few other challenges which people might sponsor me for as part of the mileage - age, asthma and arthritic knees permitting!!!

The Whitechapel Centre wants everyone in Merseyside to get together to enjoy a Big Boss Brekkie to raise funds for their work supporting homeless people. Registration is now open to sign-up and host your own breakfast fundraising event from 18-24 June 2018.

Big Boss Brekkie is an opportunity to get involved with fundraising for the homeless in a sociable and informal way. Like coffee mornings and cake sales, all you have to do is organise a breakfast - invite colleagues, family, friends or people in the community, buy or cook some tasty breakfast items and ask for a donation for The Whitechapel Centre.Local businesses, restaurants and coffee shops can host their own Big Boss Brekkie event or serve up a special breakfast item on the menu and donate a proportion of the sales.

Charlotte Hopkins, Community & Events Fundraiser, said:“This is our third Big Boss Brekkie Week and we are hoping to get even more people, businesses, community groups involved this year. Since our first event in 2016, the number of breakfasts we serve each year has risen by 41%. Last year The Whitechapel Centre cooked over 12,000 breakfasts for people sleeping rough. That’s why we want to make this year’s breakfast bigger than ever. The more people that take part and enjoy tea and toast, yummy pancakes, or a tasty Full English the more money will be raised so that we can continue to work with people who are homeless.

Breakfast is an incredibly important part of what we do; we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but even more so if you have just slept rough.”

Providing something as simple as a hot breakfast and a cup of tea, can start a conversation that allows The Whitechapel Centre staff to build a relationship with clients and develop trust creating a deeper understanding of the situation, identify support needs and work towards ending homelessness. There are experts on hand all day every day to prevent or end homelessness, sadly the number of people who need help is increasing. A donation of £50 could pay for 100 breakfasts; £100 could pay for eight hours of vital support for a vulnerable adult.

Last year, local illustrator Becka Griffin, hosted a Big Boss Brekkie with her friends and neighbours.She said:“What better start to the week than getting together a group of good friends for a super-healthy breakfast of avocado on toast and overnight oats? We had a lovely morning and we raised money for a really important cause too. I'd thoroughly recommend getting involved - it's really simple to put on your own Big Boss Brekkie.”

To host your own Big Boss Brekkie or sign-up to be one of our Big Boss Brekkie Venues click here.

We’re pleased to announce that The Whitechapel Centre has been awarded funding for an exciting new project which will provide assertive outreach to support people away from living a street lifestyle into a more settled way of life.The Street Lifestyle Outreach Project will provide support for people away from street living, whilst addressing addictions and other social issues. The project aims to reduce the number of people caught in a street lifestyle and involved in begging, anti-social behaviour and other aspects of street living in the city through supporting people to access accommodation and move away from a street lifestyle, providing specialist support to tackle addictions and improving health and well-being of clients.

The project is planned to begin in the summer; delivered in partnership with Addaction and Liverpool City Council. ​

We currently looking for an exceptional Team Manager and Outreach Workers for this team. Further information all our current advertised roles are available here.

John came to The Whitechapel Centre, just one month ago after spending three months in prison. Unable to find a place to stay and no social network to support him, he is currently being supported by our Day and Night service to help find a solution to his homelessness.

John is a very talented artist, and has been drawing since he was a child. The image above is of the main room in The Whitechapel Centre, described by John as "a doodle" while he was waiting for an appointment with our team. The image was created using art applications on one of the centre's computers, available for our service users to use through the day. John has learnt to use his artistic skills to divert his attention, and in his own words "keep motivated, keep calm". He fills his days with creative activities at the centre and in particular has enjoyed learning new digital photography skills.

John wants to use his artistic skills to help him get his life back on track. When he left prison he planned to continue his study of Art, after gaining a level one City and Guilds whilst serving his time. John has secured a place at a local college, and is currently studying for his level two City and Guilds. His ambition now is to build his skills further, use his new qualifications to get a job and hopefully, support the work of The Whitechapel Centre through volunteering.

​To find out more about what we do to support homelessness click here:

Last July, I participated in the Liverpool Nightrider 100km cycle around Liverpool and Wirral to raise money for The Whitechapel Centre. Participating in the ride was incredibly rewarding and I was so happy to successfully complete the challenge and raise £500 for The Whitechapel Centre.

I signed up for the ride because I wanted to challenge myself with a longer distance cycling challenge and I figured with a bit of training I could do it. Equipped with my bike, sun cream and lots of snacks, I spent June and July training for the ride by cycling around Liverpool, from Sefton Park to Southport and even over the Runcorn Bridge. I posted updates on Instagram and Twitter to update my friends on my adventures. I loved being outside in the sunshine all day on the weekend and particularly enjoyed many rides on the Liverpool loop line. It was challenging to figure out how much food to bring (lots!) during training and I often had to stop at a local shop to stock up on more carbs.

"During training I cycled from south Liverpool to Southport, 50 km in total."

I took the opportunity to raise money for The Whitechapel Centre, which works within Liverpool to support the homeless. A number of friends and colleagues donated to my ride and kept up with my training on Instagram. I also hosted a coffee morning in my University Department (Physics) for the ride, which was a great excuse to chat to friends, talk about cycling and also The Whitechapel Centre. In total, I was able to raise £500 for the centre, thanks to my generous sponsors, and it was really motivational for the ride.

"Ominous clouds before the ride started by the beautiful three graces."

​​The night of the ride was nerve wracking and as we set off through the Queensway tunnel around 11 pm, I was both excited and bracing myself for a long night. I had trained enough to keep up with the pack fairly well - but a night of rain and drizzle left us all cold and wet. Every 25 km there was an organised pit stop with food and hot drinks to help the riders along. After 6 hours of cycling, though, I completed the ride under the foggy Liver building. It was quite an experience to see all of Liverpool at night. The ride was all worth it as I was able to recover with a giant stack of pancakes :).​If you are considering doing the 2018 Nightrider I really recommend it - it is a great challenge and a lovely excuse to get out training on your bike.